ISRAEL CANNOT DEPEND ON BIDEN TO WIN IN GAZA - Election year considerations and anti-Israel Democrats swayed Biden…

By: Joseph Puder

Friday, February 16, 2024

This being an election year in the US, it would be naïve to think that President Joe Biden, considering the strength of the progressive wing of his party, would continue his unwavering support for Israel’s war in Gaza.

In recent weeks, Biden has been increasingly critical of Israel’s operations in the Gaza Strip. He has warned Israel’s Prime Minister Netanyahu against the Israel Defense Forces’ (IDF) ground assault on Rafah. Biden has demanded that Israel provide more opening times for increased humanitarian aid to Gaza. He has prevented Israel from achieving a quick victory against the Hamas terrorists who perpetrated the brutal massacres of Israelis on October 7, 2023, by providing humanitarian aid to Gaza that Hamas has largely stolen to sustain its fighting ability.

Biden’s aides have convinced him to back away from unrestricted support for Israel if he is to win a second term in November 2024. They pointed out that Muslim voters in key battleground states such as Michigan might be lost for the Democrats. Biden, a political veteran, who doesn’t have the energy and dynamism of his apparent rival, Donald Trump, clearly understood that he cannot lose key battleground states along with young Democratic college student voters - many of whom have been subjected to a barrage of anti-Israel/antisemitic rhetoric.

President Biden went from “You are not alone,” a statement of unmitigated support for Israel, to chastising Israel’s reaction in Gaza against Hamas as being “over the top,” inferring exaggeration!

In Israel, during the first weeks following the October 7 massacre, “Uncle Joe Biden” was Israel’s savior and darling. The Israeli media couldn’t praise him enough. The consensus was that American backing of Israel is and would be steady and reliable.

Reality, however, has revealed that Israel is merely a pawn on the chess table of players with greater interests and considerations.

As a matter of fact, if the 1947 Partition Plan decision to recognize the Jewish state depended at the time or today’s on the US State Department and the Pentagon, Israel would not have been recognized.

While President Harry Truman supported the Partition Plan, and recognized Israel’s establishment as an independent state, his Secretary of State, George Marshall, argued against it. Marshall and the State Department explained, that in terms of US strategic considerations, the establishment of a Jewish state in the heart of the Arab world would undermine US interests in the Middle East.

During the Cold War, the Arab world was largely on the side of the Soviets, but the rise of Revolutionary Iran and, its attempted hegemony in the region, created common interests between Israel and the Gulf Arabs. For some in the US establishment, however, American military and economic interests calls for closer relations with the Saudis, Qataris, and others in the Gulf, rather than with Israel.

Qatar is ideologically identified with the Muslim Brotherhood, which makes it a natural supporter of Hamas - a fellow jihadi Muslim Brotherhood organization – and is a primary funder of terror against Israel, and a close friend of Iran and Turkey.

In January 2018 the Trump administration opened a strategic dialogue with Qatar in the hopes of forging joint discussions on security and stability in the Middle East. The US regarded Qatar as a major client of US arms, and thus economically important.

Biden, the “Zionist,” designated Qatar as a “non-NATO ally” in March 2022.

Overwhelmed by the massive US support following the October 7 massacre, Israeli policymakers ignored Biden’s October 18, 2023 speech in Israel following his meeting with the families of the Israeli hostages kidnapped into Gaza. Biden declared that “Hamas doesn’t represent the Palestinian people,” that the Palestinian people suffer too and, that the US is working for a way to improve the lives of the people of Gaza with humanitarian aid and extra funds.

Adding to Biden administration’s Islamic pandering, he elevated the fight against Islamophobia and, in so doing, marginalized the heightened levels of wanton acts of antisemitism.

According to CNN-TV, an NPR-PBS and Marist poll conducted between January 29-February 4, 2024, found 54% of voters disapprove of Biden. The results prompted the White House to change direction, albeit in an evenhanded manner, by appeasing the pro-Palestinian crowds.

Israel’s just war against Hamas, the murderous terrorist group ruling Gaza, and its efforts to secure the return of the hostages - Israelis and American citizens, have, at best, become secondary for Biden.

Pro-Hamas demonstrations, by Arabs and Muslims and their pro-Palestinian leftist allies in America’s largest cities, have enabled Obama appointed aides - retained by Biden - to shift Biden’s attention to the pressing need of securing the Muslim vote.

The New York Times reported (February 9, 2024) that in a closed-door meeting with Arab-American leaders in Michigan, Biden’s aide “offered some of the administration’s clearest notes of contrition for its response to the Gaza war, a sign of rising Democratic party pressure on President Biden.” Biden has also been critical of PM Netanyahu and Israel’s right-leaning coalition government.

According to Fox-News (February 12, 2024) Biden echoed King Abdullah of Jordan, during Abdullah’s recent visit to the White House, in calling for a cease-fire in Gaza, cautioned Israel against operating in Rafah, and warned Israel not to displace the Palestinians currently in the southern town of Rafah. US Senator Tom Cotton (R-Ark) said that “Biden is simply catering to the far-left.” Still, Biden has remained somewhat supportive of Israel and has resisted demands within the Democratic Party to call for a permanent cease-fire, although he supports an extended truce.

Israel must not have any illusions about Biden. Biden is trailing former President Trump in the polls. He and his aides feel the need to secure every possible vote, including the Arab and Muslim votes. This consideration trumps continued support for Israel and ensures a longer war in Gaza and much more bloodshed.